So, I’ve seen this post on social media the last few days as news comes in of the children who died in the flooding along Guadalupe River in Texas. I’m not a very religious person mainly because of things like this.
If Jesus Christ can stand just beyond the Pearly Gates and welcome children who gasped for their last breaths and cried for their parents as they died, then why even worship someone so vicious and uncaring. Jesus was able to raise Lazarus from the dead but he was unable to help drowning children. God gave Moses the abilities to part the Red Sea but stood by as raging flood rivers have claimed the lives of over 100 reported people as of this posting.
At the same time, we’ve heard the same thing, “Thoughts and prayers.” But really if praying produced tangible results all the time the government would keep lower-income people as well as non-white people from doing it by any means necessary. At the same time, the government seems ready to lock up brown-skinned people in what is called “Alligator Alcatraz” which is just another concentration camp.
And of course, Joel Osteen is sitting idly by refusing to allow people who have lost everything from coming to his church. Nowadays, churches in small towns and cities across the country are building multi-purpose buildings that have good working bathrooms with showers as well as kitchens for the oft-chance that a few days out of the year, these facilities may be needed to help people during inclement weather.
Sometimes they’re not the biggest and most beautiful looking churches but they have their priorities more in aligned with the teaching of Christianity.
We’re also hearing the story of a young man, Scott Ruskan, 26, a petty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard, who reportedly saved 165 kids from flooding. It was also his first mission as a rescue swimmer as he just graduated six months ago. I know he was just doing his job but three years after Uvalde law enforcement stood idly by while children were fatally shot, Ruskan has shown that sometimes you just got to take the risk to save just one more life if you can.
I’d much rather read a story about this young man than the countless stories and interviews about The Chrisleys who defrauded banks of millions and tax evasions. I briefly saw Julie Chen interviewing them with such happiness and enthusiasm it made me sick.
And earlier this month, Jimmy Swaggart died at 90. As a televangelist, Swaggart like Osteen swindled people out of their money and even their life savings so he and his family could live high on the hog. He promised them salvation in the next life as they struggled to make payments and afford groceries because that’s what Jesus wanted them to do.
I don’t care about Swaggart and if he was in a lot of pain and suffering his last few weeks, months or years, he probably deserved it and then some. If there is a Hell, hopefully he got in the FastLane there. I remember when he went on his TV show crying for having sex with a prostitute. It became comedy fodder for late-night talk shows and variety sketch shows. Jim Carrey did a hilarious impersonation on In Living Color.
But for the most part it was an act to get more money. I wouldn’t doubt Swaggart paid more prostitutes before and since. I can go ahead and tell you from my days as a newspaper reporter, there’s a lot of adultery and infidelity in the church world. They even teach pastor wives to “forgive” their husbands for their adultery.
At the same time, the Justice Department says there is no Epstein list of clients, which is just bullshit. The current President is playing a dangerous game and drawing a line in the sand between people who believe him foolishly and those that aren’t that stupid. And yes, while everything that’s happening with this administration is temporary, the long-term effects will still be felt.
I’m hoping more and more people start to see that blind faith is a fascist way of telling people not to question anything. I’m not saying you can’t have religion. I just don’t think it should be used as a way of daily life for everyone, especially if some people don’t believe in it.
Instead of being used for each person’s own spiritual enlightenment, it’s just used as a way to control people.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 